Pelagic Order (NT book)

Pelagic Order

“To see an entire ocean destroyed is a terrible thing. The waters of life became corrupt, and the nereid race was snuffed out of existence in second, turning the seas red with blood. The entire layer twisted upon itself, fracturing and damaging the Plane of Water. However, it also gave my life purpose.” – Quintarus the Masked

The Pelagic Order is a monastic crusade that operates within the plane of water to keep the various layers of oceans separate and flowing. They ensure that Draum’s dreams remain stable and that oceans to not corrupt each other. They seek out words of creation left behind by the gods. With this power, they heal the damage inflicted on the Plane of Water and keep its seas flowing freely and without corruption.

The First Pelagic Crusade began after the mad dragon, Akylios, created a breech in the Glundro Ocean. He took his demonic forces to the mortal realm and began consuming the sanity of countless worlds. The rifts his journeys created caused the Sea of Chaos to become corrupt, to blend and bleed into other seas, such as the infinite seas of the Plane of water. This stress angered Draum, and his sleep became fitful. As he stirred, an entire layer within the Plane of Water broke down and was utterly destroyed.

The Onir dreamfolk, who had no means to leave their plane of existence and thus escape its destruction, launched the Pelagic Crusade. They used their proximity to Tarken, and other locations imbued with power, to search for words of creation. The gods had once used these arcane words to create the mortal realm and imprison the vile Akvan. Using this divine language, the Onir crusaders healed the oceans wherever they could and sealed off the corruptive influences wherever they could not. The First Pelagic Crusade may very well have saved the entire Cosmos from the wound that mad Akylios inflicted.

After the first Pelagic Crusade, the sanctity of the plane’s layers remained intact, and Draum slept soundly. However, the Onir now had many words of creation under their control. The Pelagic Order’s inner sanctum, led by Caeceius Esdra, became tempted to use this power to shape the planes to their whims. They used the divine words to drain power from other seas and planed, abandoning their lofty goals of healing their own seas. When Quintarus discovered what his mentor had wrought, he rallied the crusading armies against the Pelagium Citadel.

The siege was long and brutal, but the crusaders prevailed. Once they breeched the walls, however, the Citadel exploded in a magical catastrophe. It was utterly destroyed, and no sign of Caeceius were ever found. However, this second crusade was costly. The Pelagic Order had very few crusaders remaining and grey wary about trusting outsiders. Many survivors slipped away to various temples throughout the Dreaming Seas, where they continue their task of healing the breeches between layers and planes.